Tony Stewart joined Haas CNC Racing, now Stewart-Haas Racing, after the 2008 season as a driver/owner due to Joe Gibbs Racing switching from Chevrolet to Toyota. Since 2009, the rest is history for the former NASCAR driver.
Stewart, 51, won his third NASCAR Cup Series championship in the No. 14 car during the 2011 season and solidified himself as one of the 10 best NASCAR drivers in history. The co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing went on to retire at the conclusion of the 2016 season and has been wildly successful since then.
Stewart owns NASCAR and World of Outlaws teams, the All Star Circuit of Champions, the Superstar Racing Experience, Eldora Speedway, and drives full-time in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series. All of these obligations have created questions about Stewart-Haas Racing.
Related: Tony Stewart talks about his chances of running the Daytona 500 in the future
Tony Stewart talks about his involvement with Stewart-Haas Racing compared to other racing tasks
Stewart-Haas Racing is at a “crossroads” due to upcoming retirement of 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick. The No. 4 car will be left vacant while the rest of the lineup outside of Chase Briscoe is uncertain.
Aric Almirola could retire at the conclusion of the 2023 NASCAR season after announcing his intentions to retire at the end of 2022. Obviously, Almirola decided to come back but his retirement is coming sooner rather than later.
Finally, Ryan Preece sits 28th in the point standings and that might not be good enough for the organization. Some have linked Stewart-Haas Racing’s struggles to Stewart’s obligations to other areas of motorsports.
Stewart went on Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s podcast, the Dale Jr. Download, and talked about his involvement with Stewart-Haas Racing as he is not at the track as much as he used to be in the past years.
“All the time you’re like, ‘Ahh, he doesn’t care about NASCAR anymore, he doesn’t care about sprint car racing anymore.’ It’s the farthest thing from the truth. I love our race teams, I’m still passionate about our race teams. But I get to go race with my wife (Leah Pruett) on the weekends, so sorry, I may not be at the track on the weekend, but that doesn’t mean I don’t care about what’s going on, it doesn’t mean I’m not involved in what’s going on.”
Tony Stewart on his involvement with Stewart-Haas Racing in 2023
It is easy to tell that Stewart does hear the conversations of him not caring about other forms of racing following his entrance into the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series and he is still clearly passionate about his race teams.
The 51-year-old owner does not have a NASCAR team just to put it on his resume and say that he owns an organization. If Stewart is going to invest into a racing project, it is going to be done at the highest level so it can be successful.
With Stewart-Haas Racing’s struggles and the uncertainty of its lineup in the coming years, it is a good thing that Stewart is still a part of the process. Stewart’s other investments of time and money are important but he’s still trying his best to make it as successful as possible moving forward.
In the meantime, whether you are watching it live or looking for how to watch NASCAR on TV or another streaming platform, Sportsnaut has you covered for the upcoming weekend at Dover Motor Speedway!